Ohio Schools Brace for Fallout From Levy Defeats

The impact of 77 school-tax-levy defeats out of 103 on local Ohio
ballots a month ago is settling in across the state, as schools begin
the year amid teacher layoffs, decreased bus service, and larger class
sizes.

Administrators and school board members in districts that came up
short at the polls on Aug. 3 hope that as the new fiscal reality sinks
in, voters will have a change of heart when many of the same tax
measures reappear on their ballots this fall.

"We’ve had school districts that have had to cut out all fall
programs—no band, no volleyball, no school newspaper, no school
government," said Fred Pausch, the director of legislative services for
the Ohio School Boards Association in Columbus. "Here in Ohio, you have
communities divided by this issue."

Of 103 school tax proposals on the recent ballot—more measures
than in the last four August special elections combined—only 26
passed. The 25 percent passing rate is the lowest for school tax
measures since 1998.

"The issue isn’t one of mistrust," said J. Kevin Kelley, the
president of the Parma city school board, which saw its tax levy fail.
"People feel taxed out. They’re really feeling the effect of the
economy."

School funding relies too heavily on property taxes, he argued.
"Until the funding formula is overhauled, districts will continue to
rely on local taxpayers," he said.

Property-Tax Burden

Last year, Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, formed a 35- member
statewide task force to recommend a new school funding system. The
panel’s recommendations will be considered in November in time
for planning the state’s 2006-07 biennial budget.

Joan Platz, the education specialist for the League of Women Voters
in Ohio, said because school levies don’t include inflationary
growth, districts are forced to return repeatedly to voters. That
necessity often translates into voter fatigue, Ms. Platz said. She
added that voters also end up taking out their frustrations about the
poor economy on one of the only increased costs they can oppose: school
tax levies.

With Ohio losing more than 120,000 manufacturing jobs in the past
few years, some voters can’t afford higher property-tax rates,
said Scott A. Pullins, the chairman and chief executive officer of the
Ohio Taxpayers Association, an advocacy group in Columbus that favors
tax limits. He added that some voters believe that school districts
don’t need the extra money.

"Superintendents would like to get a blank check," Mr. Pullins said,
adding that he would oppose any attempt to limit the opportunities
voters have to consider increasing tax levies or renewing them. "I
think voters would like to continue to have their say in the process,"
he said. Still, Mr. Pullins said he believes that low voter turnout
probably had the greatest effect on the failure of the school tax
measures in August. With many people on vacation, only the "hard core"
voters went to the polls, he said. Those voters, he added, are often
fiscally conservative retirees who are against raising taxes.

A Third Try

This fall, the Parma school board will ask the city’s voters
for a third time to support an operating levy that would generate $11.6
million annually. The tax measure failed by a ratio of 2- to-1 in
August. Voters opposed a similar measure in March.

Earlier this summer, the 13,000-student district south of Cleveland
cut the jobs of 104 staff members, including 50 teachers. The district
adopted the state minimum of providing transportation solely to
students who live at least two miles away from school. The district had
been busing children living 1½ miles from their schools. The
impact was drastic: School bus service went from transporting 7,000
students in 2003-04 to 2,300 students this fall.

Mr. Kelley, the school board president in Parma, said that without
passage of the school tax levy, the additional cost-cutting measures
were necessary to avoid a projected $21 million shortfall in the
district’s $100 million budget in 2005-06. He said Parma might
finally secure a victory at the polls in November after residents come
to grips with larger class sizes and curtailed bus service at their
schools.

Mr. Kelley himself faced those fiscal realities when school started
last month.

While he lives in a designated "high traffic zone" that continues to
receive school bus service because of concerns about student safety
amid dense automobile traffic in the area, he asked that his own
children not receive such service. The father of four school-age
children now faces an academic year when those children won’t be
boarding a bus to school.

"I wanted to be in the same boat as everyone else," Mr. Kelley said.
He added, "My wife isn’t very happy with me right now."

Vol. 24, Issue 1, Pages 25, 31

Published in Print: September 1, 2004, as Ohio Schools Brace for Fallout From Levy Defeats

Our Ohio
Page includes articles and statistics on education issues from the
past year.

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.

Ground Rules for Posting
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.